Centrica Storage’s Easington gas terminal will have the first 5G ready mobile private network (MPN) in the oil and gas industry.
Vodafone said: “The MPN will help digitalise much of the critical maintenance and engineering operations. This will allow the company to assess the risk and urgency of repairs in real time, streamline activities, reduce cost and increase environmental and worker safety by creating a fully connected digital ecosystem.”
It described an MPN as a dedicated, secure mobile network for a specific site. “Providing more reliable coverage than Wi-Fi, the low latency, high performance network will deliver ubiquitous secure and localised outdoor and indoor coverage for mission-critical monitoring, control and communications.”
Paul Stevens, Information System and Technology Director at Centrica Storage, said: “The mobile private network we are building at our Easington terminal will help us address 1970s problems with a 21st century solution, taking our business to the future from the moment it’s live. Safety is a critical measure of success at Centrica Storage and the solution we are putting in place in Easington will reduce risk for everyone on our site. By using this technology ahead of our peers, we will establish ourselves as leaders in the future of oil and gas processing.”
The MPN built by Vodafone Business using Ericsson equipment, will enable the overlay use cases to support a digital maintenance ecosystem. This means employees will be connected to digital applications across the entire site, increasing productivity while also helping to reduce cost.
Additionally, the mobile private network will allow real-time visibility of work conducted at the plant, offering clarity around the condition and status of the various elements of the facility around the clock. This will ensure not just productivity but also safety, as connected workers will be alerted of potential gas emissions which will be rapidly identified and managed in line with industry guidelines.
Vinod Kumar, CEO of Vodafone Business, said: “Mobile private networks will revolutionise the way oil and gas plants are managed by increasing efficiency while also improving workers’ safety. Thanks to this powerful technology Centrica Storage can now start building the gas plant of the future and we are really excited to be with them on this journey.”
For more information visit www.centrica.com
